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The slow death of American democracy

From Vanity Fair, Kurt Eichenwald on the truth about Obamacare and how it solves the suffering of the insured. Colin Gordon on the irony and limits of the Affordable Care Act. Dylan Scott on what really happens to people whose insurance is “canceled” because of Obamacare (and more). Jonathan Chait on why letting everyone keep their health-care plan is a terrible idea. Why not just postpone the launch? Garance Franke-Ruta on why it's too late to delay Obamacare (and more). Kevin Drum on the lesson of Obamacare: Sabotage works. Alan Wolfe on the paranoid style, then and now: Can Richard Hofstadter's insights of a half-century ago help us understand today's radical right? Cass Sunstein how the Alger Hiss case explains the Tea Party. The strategies pursued by Ted Cruz and Rand Paul could help determine whether the Tea Party remains at war with the GOP establishment or is eventually integrated. What if progressives took a page from the Tea Party? Bhaskar Sunkara wonders. Elizabeth Drew on Tom Foley and Washington: When decency prevailed. Robert W. Merry on the slow death of American democracy. From Salon, sorry, Jon Stewart, you’re not “just a comedian”: The Daily Show needs to stop pretending he's simply another late-night jokester — and own his real influence; and lazy pundits “double down” on “game-changing” “narratives”: Thomas Frank on how the political media's non-stop “debates” poison democracy because “thinkers” speak in empty, exhausted cliches. 25 years later, “The Simpsons” is still one of television’s premier political pundits, at least as far as U.S. presidents are concerned.